Belswick 11: and then there were none

Last time in Belswick, the group dug into an underground complex to save their buddy Mike from demonic possession. This session, they discover there's worlds of weirdness down below.

Excerpt from the travel logbook of the Nobledwarf Shams Metalgrog

Rumours of impending surface war slither down the tunnels. This threatens our trade routes and so finding a safe new route is the most honourable task bestowed upon me. We set out with nine in our party and the first leg of the journey was without incident.

The difficulty started when we reached some badly built corridors, no real craftdwarfship went into it and that showed. The first two dwarfs were lost to the collapse of such a wretched passage. We will have to pay the families of LiliHammer and DaisyStomper. Their loss is mourned.

The further east we went the greater our loss. Axl Ferrose and Kevin were pulled into the heights by sticky threads, and LotusKnocker and CactusSipper disappeared into the dark after a loud growling suddenly was heard close by.

Also lost to us was Dan Delying, sage and holder of the list of goods and requirements. His disappearing while away for a pee break was awkward. The smell in the area he disappeared from was slightly mouldy and I am sure the little mushrooms that were growing in the corners were not there before. Now only I and my retainer Nicolas are left to carry on.

Mummy can we go to the library

The uncertainty about the lives of our party eats at me, but we have to finish our task. Hopefully along the way we will be able to strike beneficial agreements to reach our goal and get our compatriots back. We have moved slightly quicker these last hours, but we have finally a need to rest a bit. We reach a room that looked like it was once a library. It will suit our purpose.

The library looks extensive. It appears made for giants, or parts of it do. Perhaps magic caused part of the site to grow, or shrink. There are bustes of some famous sage and murals of how this wise one tracked and trapped a priest who stole the secrets of heaven (good, the texts indicate) and went mad with the power (useful, but best kept until a time of the snakefolk's choosing. Hency, many experiments to bind and capture this Umtak Ktharl.) Mummies of ancient snakefolk are busying themselves with the restoration of books. They leave us alone as long as we are quiet.

 

Quick sketch of the area by Franky the dungeon bug / dungeon merchant.

We meet one called Anthony - greenish eyes, claw-like nails, grayed skin, smells like dead meat, is looking for his buddies. He eyes us in the light of our candle. A fragile compact, that could be broken by the least of incidents. His gaze is feral and hungry. I do not trust him. Before we can put this delicate balance to the test, Nicholas hears the sound of voices on the other side of a gigantic door. Anthony flees down natural tunnels through a crack in the walls. I do not believe I have seen the last of him.

Shams is a new character played by my wife; she's meeting up with the rest of the group who are trying to find their runaway druid buddy Mike. Said druid has been temporarily taken over by the devil Buddy after making a deal to return the party back to life. Buddy has let slip that he's on earth to "deal with a priest."

This underground site of the Du'van snakefolk is based on Dyson's Frog Reliquary map. I've increased the scale so that every map square is 100x100 feet, and added colour to show factions' span of control. Underground dungeon time is strange, my players have discovered. Here time flows faster than above, and space has increased. Time for a new ecosystem to pop up: sentient fungi, enormous spiders and giant lizards now fight the undead in the side areas for living space. These side spaces are quite dangerous and heavy in loot, but the party seems to be uninterested so far.

The enemy of my enemies

The party that crawls under the giant door are the first people here that don’t immediately want to kill me and mine. They are also looking for a member of their party, a weird and evil rat type creature. The group consists of:

• A Priest of the Authority - a hint of unctious cleric and a voice that seems trained to project like a bard. He does not heal and does not inspire.
• A tall shark man - smells like he might cause trouble, though not clear for whom. He keeps griping about his time running out, wanting an amulet off the priest and needing to return underwater to complete his transformation.
• An elf - what more needs to be said.

(Absent due to flu: Guy the wizard, Mike&Sydney the druid&sorceror. Mike/Sydney's player will skype in later in the evening to join part of the spider combat - having a player join via cybertube is a first for us!)

Information in the library

The giant map on the library wall shows clearly that this abomination of a structure is somehow connected to the ancient dwarf tunnels that criss-cross the Snake Mountains. The collapsed tunnels we encountered were clearly were this obscenity of a complex had encroached upon the great dwarven roads. I blame myself for not seeing this sooner. 

Stylized Du'van map of what seems to be the Belswick area. It shows mountains and bodies of water, as well as the resting places of six great leaders of the snake people. (XIXIMANTER is from Tomb of the Serpent Kings; CYRIS MAXIMUS, from Death Frost Doom; Umtak Ktharl, from a short Johannes Cabal story. The rest are my own wriggly little brain childer.)

We join forces to find those we have lost. Delving in to the fungal growth we find "heyheyhey it's your boy Franky!" an enormous cockroach (I will not judge upon his form) with all the information and all the greatest deals. Have engaged him in friendly trade. If any trade route is to run through here he will come in very handy.

Communication with this creature was interesting and disconcerting, as it appears to happen telepathically through the spores I have inhaled from a small mushroom in his pouch. Long term effect will have to be assessed.

Frankieboy has agreed to take us to the nearest dwarf that is still alive through the safest route. This was only partially correct. Our party ran into a floating tentacled fungal sac. It was slain by the shark man, but not before I was struck by its tentacles. Verily these caves contain things I was not prepared for. Luckily my traveling armor proved up to the task. For a next venture I might need to bring the full set. Our roach friend reappeared after the battle was done and continued guiding us to the throne room of the Shroomian Queendom.

Fun guys

(To paint a picture: a large chamber with mood lighting fungal growths, all kinds of mushroom people scattered throughout the area. A lot of spores in the air and the denizens seem to be tripping balls. On a large and slightly squelchy throne the queen is seated. She speaks in the voice of a true Californian valley girl. The DM had so much fun faking that vocal fry and wants nothing more than to leave this NPC behind. We chat her up for the better part of fifteen minutes before we leave.)

Ordinarily I do an NPC's first few lines 'in character', then drop to my normal voice. We've been watching a lot of Critical Role, so I thought it could be worth the effort to stay in-character for some NPCs. Frankie was easy to run, Her Shroominess decidedly less so. You try to do a disinterested valley girl with thick vocal fry in Dutch.)

From

Her Mouldiness was mostly interested in keeping the mellow going. Anyone that was found to be, as she said, harshing the buzz was declared fungi (or persona) no grata. At this moment I was incredibly appreciative for those dreary formal lessons in etiquette. It allowed me to immediately grasp the important things that drive this strange society. Drug use is not something we embrace in the halls, but this community seems to depend on it.

We encounter here two of my party I had thought lost - and have decided to write off again. LiliHammer and DaisyStomper shamble towards us, fungal growths streaming from their mouth, nose and ears. They fell and were, like, made use of, as the shroomians explain in their woozy mind speach.

My sage was seated near the queen, and considering his harshing influence the queen was more than happy to give him back to us. No trade with this Fungination will be forthcoming, they appear to not want for anything. Not sure if this will change in the future. However I have negotiated the beginnings of an understanding and safe passage will be granted us, which includes one of the queen’s citizens as our guide. This large Shroomian will bring us to the ‘creepies’ above that we have promised to take care of in our agreement with the queen. I have hope that two of my compatriots will be found here.

Party in the web

The spider lair comes into view with the familiar detritus of webs and remains. A few cocoons are visible on the ground, I pray to find two dwarves alive in there. Right before we enter the lair my new friends are joined by one of their party. Sydney - a dragonborn who is not all flash, but he is better off keeping it in his robes.

The battle was long and harsh, but the spiders were scattered and defeated. Dan proved his sageness by throwing firebolts. The shark man’s rage burns and makes for good spider barbecue. The cleric shows great proficiency in scaring spiders and I have seen him split a ghostly spider from its soul, killing it effectively.

The highlight of this battle was performed by Sydney, as he struck killing blow to the spider queen in the form of a heart-shaped orb. He appears to want to woo me. His priorities will need to be righted soon. In a strange turn of magic events, which I do not claim to comprehend at all, the dragon-born, transformed temporarily into a potted plant. He was tended to by members of his party (though the cleric does not attempt to heal him, this is strange), and my immediate goal was to get to the big cocoons scattered around the area and find my brothers. Axl Ferrose was in the first of the cocoons, he was understandably angry. I’m sad to say that Kevin did not make it, I found his lifeless body in one of the other cocoons. We will need to compensate his family for this loss.

Our end of the bargain upheld, we returned to the Shroomian queen. She was less than pleased to once again have our harsh personages in her space, but was happy to be rid of the spiders for now. Our Shroomian guide is ordered to the swamp to relax - apparently his proximity to our harshness has rubbed off on it. And he is to take us with him. The swamp supposedly has two more of my brothers, and is closer to the Great Prison that seems to have been the destination of the druid Mike.

I do not know what the next days will bring, but I have hopes that with my new friends I can get through them. I still have hopes of finding a safe trade route, though there are a significant number of unpredictable parties in these tunnels. 

Loot:

• sturdy grey woolen cloak with flame sigils in golden thread, resist fire: 700gp
• silver cup 60gp
• pouch of ancient coins 80gp
• key stones with snakes on them (hexagon with elven number 8, triangle with elven number 7. Tilbord the priest and Lomin the Elf seem perturbed - didn't the snakefolk predate the Elves?)

It bears repeating: all the stuff found in this dungeon is the rightful property of the lord on whose land the group is trespassing. Which means that barring smooth talking or stealthy passage, they won't get to keep any of this without trouble of some kind. Taxes, weregild, a declaration of poaching - it's all in the cards.

If the band ever makes it to the surface again, that is. I feel the Veins opening up beneath this dungeon complex.